Final Four Saturday of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament saw the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers in an absolute slug-fest for a spot in the SEC Championship on the line. Saturday was the third meeting between the Bulldogs and Tigers, which would serve as the rubber match as they split the season series this season. Mississippi State won at the Hump, and Auburn defended the jungle a few weeks ago.

In the matchup with Auburn, Mississippi State had to play another physical game to match Auburn’s intensity. Mississippi State went all twelve rounds with Auburn from the tip as if two prized boxers were fighting for a world championship. They exchanged blows like fighting Mike Tyson, leading to a halftime tie of 31.

As halftime gave way to the second half, Auburn opened with a nice lead, making the necessary adjustments to bring the Auburn crowd back into play as the Bulldogs struggled with stamina after playing their third game in three days. As the game progressed, the shots started to rim out, and the sense of being gassed began to creep in for Mississippi State. Josh Hubbard struggled to do his usual scoring, as he had five points at the 9:48 mark of the second half.

At the under-8 media timeout, Mississippi State fought back to cut into Auburn’s lead, making it 57-56 with 4:54 to play in the game. Throughout 1:04, Mississippi State went on a 7-0 run led by Josh Hubbard, knocking down shots. Auburn responded with a quick comeback to make it 61-56 in favor of the Tigers with 4:06 remaining.

As the seconds ticked off the clock, Auburn was just too much for the gassed Mississippi State Bulldogs as the Tigers hung on to beat the Bulldogs to advance to the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship game.

Mississippi State will return to Starkville to await their selection and destination for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.